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Turn signals and emergency flashers not working [SOLVED].

SkeithSkeith Registered User regular
edited February 2010 in Help / Advice Forum
Started last friday. My turn signals were getting unreliable in the sense that they'd flash once and then stop; as a quick solution I'd just reset the signal lever and do it again. This stopped working after about an hour. A friend of mine who works for a local parts store believes it's the turn signal relay, so I picked up one of those and have since been under my dashboard twice trying to figure out which of the little things it is. I'd rather avoid the process of elimination so as not to risk screwing anything up, and I've run into another snag; the part that I purchased, and the relays under the dash, have different numbers of prongs (4 being the lowest of what's there, 3 being on the one that I bought on monday). I've tried calling around, checking online manuals for my car, all that stuff, and all I've learned is that there may not actually be a Volkswagen dealer on this island since the last one went under last year (which I doubt, but right now I don't have time to call every dealership on Maui to confirm).

My car is a 1999 Jetta with a 2.0 liter engine. I'll edit this with pictures of what's under the dash later this evening, as I left my camera with someone and won't have access to it until then. I have confirmed that the lights work with the little electronic lock/unlock alarm thing.

aTBDrQE.jpg
Skeith on

Posts

  • ChanusChanus Harbinger of the Spicy Rooster Apocalypse The Flames of a Thousand Collapsed StarsRegistered User, Moderator mod
    edited February 2010
    I don't know specifically, but these are a Godsend:

    Haynes Repair Manual: 1999 Volkswagen Jetta

    Chanus on
    Allegedly a voice of reason.
  • locopostallocopostal Registered User regular
    edited February 2010
    is it one like this?

    http://www.amazon.com/IMPERIAL-80118-ELECTRO-MECHANICAL-FLASHER-LAMP/dp/B001D79J5Q

    if you can see the one thats in there now (that failed), or pull it out, see if you can find the numbers on it (like the one in the pic) and that should be all you need to find another one that will work.

    of course, i don't know about crazy german vehicles, they may be a bit more complicated than my work truck. All i did when my truck suffered the exact same symptoms was pull the flasher relay, walk into an auto parts store, and say "i will give you money in exchange for a new one of these".

    locopostal on
  • flatlinegraphicsflatlinegraphics Registered User regular
    edited February 2010
    jetta? its probably the emergency switch itself. this is a common problem for vw's of that era. you may actually have a recall for it. look it up on the vwvortex, they should have all the info there.

    flatlinegraphics on
  • eternalbleternalbl Registered User regular
    edited February 2010
    jetta? its probably the emergency switch itself. this is a common problem for vw's of that era. you may actually have a recall for it. look it up on the vwvortex, they should have all the info there.

    I came in to basically say the same thing. Between that relay (which may just not be the correct part if it doesn't seem physically identical to any of the relays from your car) and the hazard light switch you should be well covered.

    Check this. I know it says passat, but its not uncommon for the same makes of car to use the same basic ideas, or even the same parts in some cases, to achieve similar functions. Maybe just cleaning the blinker switch like it describes will fix your problem.

    eternalbl on
    eternalbl.png
  • AtomBombAtomBomb Registered User regular
    edited February 2010
    I have an '05 Golf, and I know that the turn signal/flasher relay is in the emergency switch itself, not on a relay board.

    AtomBomb on
    I just got a 3DS XL. Add me! 2879-0925-7162
  • RuckusRuckus Registered User regular
    edited February 2010
    Skeith wrote: »
    Started last friday. My turn signals were getting unreliable in the sense that they'd flash once and then stop; as a quick solution I'd just reset the signal lever and do it again. This stopped working after about an hour. A friend of mine who works for a local parts store believes it's the turn signal relay, so I picked up one of those and have since been under my dashboard twice trying to figure out which of the little things it is. I'd rather avoid the process of elimination so as not to risk screwing anything up, and I've run into another snag; the part that I purchased, and the relays under the dash, have different numbers of prongs (4 being the lowest of what's there, 3 being on the one that I bought on monday). I've tried calling around, checking online manuals for my car, all that stuff, and all I've learned is that there may not actually be a Volkswagen dealer on this island since the last one went under last year (which I doubt, but right now I don't have time to call every dealership on Maui to confirm).

    My car is a 1999 Jetta with a 2.0 liter engine. I'll edit this with pictures of what's under the dash later this evening, as I left my camera with someone and won't have access to it until then. I have confirmed that the lights work with the little electronic lock/unlock alarm thing.

    Many vehicles have relay/fuse panels under the hood for things like headlights, turnsignals, and other major systems.

    I also recommend a Haynes Manual.

    Ruckus on
  • SkeithSkeith Registered User regular
    edited February 2010
    Alright, so one of the auto program teachers allowed me access into their manual system, and I now have a good picture of the relay that I need to replace, along with the prongs for the relay itself. I appreciate the help guys, and I will find another Haynes (or hopefully find the one I thought I moved here with) in the near future.

    Skeith on
    aTBDrQE.jpg
This discussion has been closed.